Solomon Islands Ebony Canoe Prow Head – NGUZU

The nguzu nguzu (sometimes called a musu musu or toto isu) is the traditional figurehead which was past years were affixed to the canoe's prow in the Solomon Islands.  It was attached to the canoe's prow at the waterline level, and was believed to provide ancestral protection  of the canoe and its occupants during warring  expeditions and head hunting attacks . Nguzu nguzus typically depict bust-length figures with large heads, small arms, and circular ear ornaments with the hands are raised to the figure's chin, sometimes clasping either a smaller human head or a bird. Their jutting jaws were traditionally held to be an attribute of ancestral spirits. The bird, throughout Melanesia culture,  is a symbolic "good omen", similar to the idea of a powerful   "Good Luck" charm.

This stunning modern piece of art, is made from the top quality Ebony (King Ebony) and has been beautifully carved by a Master Carver. The inlaid shell work is typical of the intensely intricate , cultural design found in the Solomon islands and is delicately and painstakingly created from Mother-of-Pearl shells. This stunning shell work is incredibly fine and detailed producing stunning decoration. It  is highly sophisticated artwork decoration unlike the Mother-of-Pearl in-laid art work found in neighbouring Papua New Guinea's , Trobiand Islands,  where the Mother -of-Pearl in-lays are either basic round or square design shapes only.

The Nguzu has today become the national emblem of the Solomon Islands .